It's an understatement to say girls soccer is competitive in the Palomar League.

The section's last eight Division I high school champions are bunched in the league, and four of the Palomar's six teams are ranked in the San Diego Section's Top 10 this season.

Two of those squads matched up yesterday as No. 4 Poway tied No. 5 Westview 1-1 in their league opener.

Westview (9-1-5, 0-0-1), playing at home, scored first with 26 minutes to go when junior Tina Sweeney collected a rebound on teammate Melissa Rose's shot and put it past the Poway goalkeeper.

"Melissa's hard work paid off, and I was able to capitalize," said Sweeney. "However, I am just a little upset right now that we couldn't get the victory."

With a little less than 14 minutes to go, Poway's Kim Farrant scored on an open net after Westview's goalkeeper attempted to retrieve a loose ball.

The game came down to missed opportunities for both teams.

With 26 minutes to go in the first half, Westview appeared to score when Poway's goalkeeper seemed to stop a shot after it entered the goal. Poway had a close call of its own with 18 minutes to go in the game when a shot bounced off the top of the goal and nearly went in. In both cases, the referee ruled no goal.

"From our angle we really couldn't tell if either of those shot attempts were good," said Poway coach Jen Lalor-Nielsen. "At least the refs were in position, so I trust their final calls and I think the tie was probably the fair result."

The schedule doesn't get any easier for Poway (11-4-1, 0-0-1). The Titans will take on defending Division I champion and top-ranked La Costa Canyon (11-0, 1-0) tomorrow.